Disney to Market Marvel-Branded Fruits and Vegetables

Disney Consumer Products will showcase new selections of its Disney-branded fruits and vegetables at a trade show this week featuring Marvel and other characters, the company announced Thursday.

The subsidiary of Walt Disney Co., the Burbank entertainment conglomerate, has sold apple slices and berries featuring Disney characters on the packaging since 2006, with total sales of 3.1 billion servings. Other current offerings include vegetable trays shaped like Mickey Mouse or Cinderella’s carriage.

The new products include sliced apples with Marvel’s The Avengers or Spider-Man on the package, and mangos with a variety of Disney characters. The company will debut the products at the Produce Marketing Association’s Fresh Summit Convention & Expo, Oct. 18-20 in New Orleans.

“We continue to innovate, delivering flavors that appeal to kids and offering an ever-expanding assortment of fruits and vegetables featuring the Disney characters kids know and love,” said John King, director of licensing consumables at Disney Consumer Products, in a statement.

Disney acquired Marvel Studios in 2009 in a $4 billion deal that has been hugely successful, spawning the Ironman and other franchises. However, Sony Pictures retains the rights to use the Spiderman character in films.

Shares of Disney closed up 7 cents, or less than 1 percent, to $66.42 on the New York Stock Exchange.